New pedestrian bridges and walkable boulevards, green spaces for gathering and truth-telling, viewing platforms over the river, revitalised heritage buildings, and even a new ‘Grand Central’... these are some of the ideas revealed by multi-award-winning Australian architecture and design studio, Architectus as part of their bold new vision for the Roma Street Precinct in Brisbane.
The ideas are the outcome of the annual design event ‘Charrette’ by Architectus, which brings together designers from different geographies, disciplines, and experience levels to respond to a unique design challenge. Now in its 14th year, this event offers designers a chance to share and explore powerful new ideas for Australia’s future cities.
This year’s challenge was to imagine a new future for Roma Street Precinct, where growth in terms of new roads and rail in particular has constrained the area’s rich history and future potential. The Brisbane Charrette included urban design and architecture academics, sustainability experts and First Nations contributors.
Architectus CEO Ray Brown says, “Our design team’s bold vision for the Roma Street Precinct benefits Brisbane’s status as a growing global city and future Olympic host. The concept creates a multi-connected, inclusive place where people can come together to enjoy many of the city’s greatest features.”
Architectus’ overarching vision for Roma Street
Architectus’ vision for the precinct weaves together layers of culture, history, and development to create a more connected, sustainable, and magnetic place for the future. Various themes helped shape the design vision for the precinct, particularly Brisbane’s river, building typology, heritage, transport and the new economy.
For instance, to heal the city’s relationship with the river, the design team aims to open up public space linking the Roma Street Parklands directly to the river deck – the place that also marks the ancient river crossing between Kurilpa (South Brisbane) and Wilwinpa (Parklands area).
New typologies for the tropical city such as buildings raised on piloti (columns or pillars), green facades, street-level shade structures and sky gardens embed regenerative elements into a highly urbanised environment.
The adaptive reuse of Victoria Barracks for tech and creative industries not only preserves its heritage but also revitalises it by “reinventing the space for a contemporary culture by reasserting the living traditions of our First Nations peoples”.
Sustainable transport connects people and places via mass transit and active transport such as walking and cycling. Reinvigorating the historic Roma Street Station as a new ‘Grand Central’ ensures this critical interchange can evolve with the city.
Spaces for start-ups, anchored by a new vertical university campus, fab labs, maker space, and creative industries are part of creating an ecosystem of innovation in the new economy. Different environments to suit the differing needs of tech value chain are provided across the precinct.
The Architectus design team also envisages solutions for specific sites.
Roma Street Station
The river is linked through the public plaza from Roma Street to the heart of the station, with the aboveground lines connected under an uplifting canopy – a new ‘Grand Central’ that forms a direct, active link for pedestrians to reach the parklands.
Roma Street Parklands
Along the western fringe, the landscape is terraced, with a green-roofed gallery and knowledge-sharing spaces nestled into the slope. These are crowned with future commercial, tech and mixed-use spaces to form a welcoming, low-rise street edge along College Road. A string of green-wall towers completes the arc of residential and mixed-use buildings already established along the rail lines.
Police Headquarters
On this site, an open public plaza spills off Roma Street, just opposite ‘Grand Central’. This space extends above the expressway as a green platform for performance and truth-telling – flanked by residential and commercial buildings – and then ends in a viewing platform high above the river. This elevated space connects down to the bikeway and a river deck acknowledging the ancient river crossing.
Victoria Barracks
An elevated landscape bridge connects the parklands, once cut off from Petrie Terrace by the rail yards, to Hardgrave Park and the revitalised Victoria Barracks. The Barracks are opened up to the public as a creative industry, tech and cultural precinct. This creative community is then linked back to Roma Street and the new ‘Grand Central’ via bridges to the Tech Hub building and oasis park.
